During Monday’s 13-3 win over the Boston Red Sox, Brian McCann suffered an MCL injury after trying to block a curveball in the dirt thrown by Dellin Betances. The MRI showed there was inflammation in his MCL and the Yankees decided to ‘shut him down’ for a few days, despite McCann having a pinch-hit at-bat in last night’s 2-1 loss. McCann isn’t too concerned about his knee injury and only hopes it will keep him from behind the plate for a few days.

“Right now, I’m just hoping a couple of days will knock it out and get a little more stable and be able to move forward,” McCann said before yesterday’s 2-1 loss. “… I won’t swing probably today or tomorrow. I’m just going to get treatment for a couple of days, then if I have to go in in an emergency, I’ll be fine to do that, but I’m hoping that I can get a couple of days to let it heal.”

The Yankees aren’t concerned with the injury, but are they possibly concerned with having McCann out of the lineup for a few days. McCann is one of the three power bats in the middle of the order alongside Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez and taking him out even for a few days is a big blow to the Yankees, especially since they’re in a middle of a postseason race. With the MCL sprain, McCann will be the back-up to John Ryan Murphy but with MCL sprains it’s hard to predict when McCann will exactly be ready to return to the middle of the lineup. Will he be the same player once he returns or will the MCL sprain get him out of his current groove a la Jacoby Ellsbury after his stint on the DL? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain; the Yankees need Brian McCann’s bat and the lineup is different without him..

we're lucky to have a decent backup in Murphy…Romine I believe, would be next in line if McCann needs to spend any more than a few days resting…Romine is holding his own at AAA…hopefully McCann's back in a couple days…he's a huge piece of the offense and the pitching staff seems very comfortable with him…

Beltran is beginning to hit with power again — 23 DBs & 9 HRs — and appears to have "gotten his groove back" since coming off of the DL with an oblique sprain. Perhaps he can fill the void with McCann's short term absence and Ellsbury's slump.

Beltran had a terrible April (.162/.216/.265), but has otherwise been a productive bat all season long. Since May 1st, he's hit .289/.347/.495. He missed a couple of weeks and took a few days to get up to 100 percent, but even lately he's hitting very well. His defense has been awful all season, but at least he's been a quality bat.

I would like to see Sanchez but his need is for regular playing time and I don't think there's enough of an advantage over Romine to relocate him yet. Sanchez has a much much better upside than Romine but Cashman is a slow mover when it comes to bringing up prospects. Not everyone has the talent of a Luis Severino…